(NEWSER) – A historic CoverGirl and "a cool New York moment" make this week's list of brilliant stories:

For 1st Time, CoverGirl Featuring Hijab-Wearing Model: For the first time in the company's history, CoverGirl will feature a woman wearing a hijab in its advertising. Nura Afia, a beauty vlogger with more than 216,000 YouTube subscribers, will be featured in CoverGirl's newest ad campaign alongside global celebrities like Sofia Vergara and Katy Perry. And she says there's a reason the role is particularly meaningful to her.

Big Surprise for Strangers Who Helped Stranded Wheelchair Racer: Chinese wheelchair racer Zou Lihong was competing in the New York City Marathon's wheelchair division when she got a flat around the Mile 13 mark in Brooklyn without a spare tire. She was effectively out of the race—and stuck in a strange place, unable to speak English—until "a cool New York moment" took place. It involved a smartphone app, and a couple of kind strangers who were in for a big surprise.

Scientists Develop USB Stick That Tests for HIV: A revolutionary advance in the realm of HIV testing: Scientists in the UK have come up with a USB stick that can test a single drop of blood for HIV and have results in less than 30 minutes. Here's why that's really good news for existing HIV patients.

Dog Makes Miracle Recovery After 27 Days Stuck in Well: When 7-year-old Labrador retriever Bruno disappeared, his owners, John and Cindy Billesberger, searched their little corner of Canada for weeks. On Oct. 14, the Billesbergers' two other dogs refused to move away from an old well hiding in some grass during a walk. What happened next caused one vet to say, "I don’t think many dogs would have survived this."

Women Make History in Big-Wave Surfing Contest: Women have pushed for years to be included in big-wave surfing competitions, and on Friday, the "turquoise ceiling" was shattered. One competitor explains why this moment is particularly important during this election season.